Death Metal

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    Azarath - Saint Desecration (2020)

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    Perfectly blending hyper fast Death Metal brutality with Black Metal hellishness, today we have Azarath and their latest offering: “Saint Desecration”. Building up on their transition into Blackened DM territories over their last releases, this album unleashes nearly 40 minutes of swift aggression and crushing speed, leaving the listener’s ear ringing for a couple of hours after it is over.

    The band’s ‘new’ vocalist/guitarist Skullripper (Marcin Sienkiel) perfectly fits in the band’s energetic style and wastes no time to make his presence felt in the furious opener “Death-at-will”. While some might expect more Behemoth-styled because Inferno’s drumming, the band forges their own signature style with a pummeling and firm Death Metal core that turns Blackened in certain occasions thanks to the riffs or some screams, like on “Sancta Dei Meretrix” and “Let Them Burn”.

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    Engulfed - Vengeance of the Fallen (2020)

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    Hailing from Turkey, today we have hard-hitting Death Metal battalion Engulfed and their latest effort: “Vengeance of the Fallen”. For a 25+ minute EP this release packs a mean punch with crushing riffs and crafty tempo changes, making the album quite engaging and unlike most of the very linear and dull Death Metal that kids release these days. If you are a fan of bands like Centinex, Origin and similar, you will find this album very enjoyable.

    Opening with the vicious “Rite Abandoned Heretics”, the band delivers a swift kick to the nuts with their relentless guitar work and brutal growls. Clocking in at around 8 minutes, this is definitely one of the longest Death Metal tracks we have heard in awhile, and luckily the band has the chops to keep it interesting and punishing. The guitar leads and tempo changes of “Summoning The Black Death”, make for a very interesting follow-up to a very pummeling opening piece.

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    Carcass - Despicable (2020)

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    As a fine wine, Carcass has nicely matured over time while keeping true to their signature sound, the band continues to aggressively tour and give killer performances. As a preview for their upcoming full-length release, the band delivers “Despicable”, just in time for Halloween. Featuring four tracks and nearly 20 minutes of music that will not be part of their next release, this album delivers the signature melodic/catchy Death Metal/Death’n’Roll sound we all love.

    The release kicks off with the signature Carcass guitars of “The Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue”. In this track we get a nicely paced piece filled with chugging riffs and crafty tempo changes. Jeff Walker’s usual snarl is as powerful as always, and on “The Long And Winding Bier Road” it shows that clean vocals can also create very catchy and engaging chorus sections, alongside pretty epic guitar leads.

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    Insidious Disease - After Death (2020)

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    Unleashing a very engaging barrage of old-school Death Metal sickness, today we have all-star band Insidious Disease and their sophomore release “After Death”. Featuring Tony Laureano, Shane Embury, Silenoz, Marc Grewe, and Terje Andersen, this band takes you down memory lane with crunchy DM antics filled with crafty guitar work and excellent drumming, I mean, what can you expect with such a stacked line-up.

    The band quickly chugs away with the catchy “Soul Excavation”, instantly reminding the listener of the old days of bands like Morgoth and Asphyx, but with a slightly sharper production. The riffing onslaught, courtesy of Silenoz and Cyrus, perfectly creates that mean and punishing attitude of earlier Death Metal as heard on the pummeling “Betrayer” and “Divine Fire”. For those looking into dramatic leads, “Unguided Immortality” gives a bit of Swedish DM flair, similar to bands like Grave and Centinex, with a slightly more melodic and headbanging edge.

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    Six Feet Under - Nightmares of the Decomposed (2020)

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    In the last few years we stopped writing bad reviews, as we receive more promos than we can write about, we pick our battles and only write about the good stuff. However, sometimes, there comes a release so terrible that we are just pissed about having listened to it, and want to vent about it. Today the honor belongs to Six Feet Under and their latest ‘effort’ “Nightmares of the Decomposed”. While we loved the band in their heyday… like 10-15 years ago, their quality of their latest albums has gradually decreased.

    The album starts with one of the salvageable tracks in this release with “Amputator”, while nothing revolutionary, it captures the band’s old-school ferocity and catchiness. The sluggish “Zodiac” delivers some of the most dubious vocals in this release as they just sound completely uninspired alongside grungy riffs. The album continues on a downward spiral until the terrible “The Noose” comes along, delivering one of the most boring and badly crafted songs we have heard in quite a while, even though it has some nice heavy riffs, Chris Barnes sounds completely bored in an attempt to rhyme.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Sulphur Sun - Placodemic Heraldry (2020)

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    Hailing from Switzerland, today we have Sulphur Sun and their very interesting EP titled “Placodemic Heraldry”. Featuring a weird amalgamation of Death Metal with progresisve/technical DM elements, this release delivers a very promising 10 minute teaser for a uniquely weird band. If you like weird music that is both crafty and a bit chaotic, this is the EP for you.

    Opening with the madness inducing “The Temple of Dunkleosteus”, the band delivers intricate riffs, hellish vocal arrangements ranging from hypnotic throat singing to growls, and a very playful drum track. The band’s style is instantly hard to categorize as the song goes over multiple moods and styles. The chaos continues with the sinister “Trilobite Thief”, featuring some Satyricon-esque sounding guitars and more blistering drumming and odd tempo changes, all working in strange unison.

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    Trident - North (2020)

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    Hailing from Sweden, today we have Trident’s sophomore release “North”, featuring nearly one hour of crushing Black/Death Metal. With a firm and pummeling style, the band’s ability to Blacken their Death Metal roots oozes both melody and brutality sprinkled with over the top atmospherics and lush arrangements creating a very elegant and devastating release. If you are a fan from bands like Dissection to Necrophobic to Dimmu Borgir, you will greatly enjoy this release.

    Making a grandiose entrance, the lush intro track perfectly sets the stage for the Thulcandra/Dissection-esque antics of “Death”. The band quickly showcases their full power with incisive guitar riffs, a thundering bass guitar line, and hellish screams. The band’s ravaging pace continues through intense tracks like “Imperium Romanum” and its sharp guitars leads, and the sinister melodies of “Summoning”.

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    Theotoxin - Fragment: Erhabenheit (2020)

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    Hailing from Austria, today we have the pummeling Theotoxin and their latest hellish offering “Fragment: Erhabenheit”. Delivering a dynamic mixture of Black/Death Metal, the band unravels nearly 45 minutes of ravaging songs filled with brutality and dissonance. For fans of bands like Behemoth, Belphegor and Old Man’s Child, this release balances a brilliant production and waves of brutal onslaughts.

    The ritual begins with the blistering opener “Golden Tomb”, a very punishing track filled with demonic vocals, waves of ravaging guitars and bestial drumming. Combining shrieks with deeper snarls, allows the band to create a very effective vehicle to deliver their lyrics while the world seems to crumble with the relentless intensity of the band’s music, as we can hear both in “Obscure Divinations” and the commanding “Prayer”, which give that Behemoth vibe but with a different twist.

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    Jupiterian - Protosapien (2020)

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    Three years after terraforming the scene with their excellent 2017 release, today we have Brasil’s Jupiterian dropping the massive “Protosapien”. Pushing the boundaries of the genre and always delivering something interesting and aurally punishing, this band is one of the few that constantly improves over time and morphs into new shapes in each release. If you like punishing riffs, a wide variety of genres, and the feeling of being on a choke hold (by music), then you can’t miss out on this one.

    After slowly creating a very dissonant atmosphere with their opening track, “Mere Humans” instantly unleashes a barrage of punishing riffs and a hypnotic pace. As one of their specialties, the band suddenly switches gear into heavier and slower territories with the (newer) Lantlôs-esque “Voidborn” and its waves of pummeling guitars. The growls are a perfect match for such an aggressive and yet subtly melodic onslaught.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hateful - Set Forever On Me (2020)

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    Unleashing nearly 40 minutes of crafty Technical Death Metal, today we have Italy’s Hateful and their third full-length release “Set Forever On Me”. While most bands in the genre currently focus on technical wankery, this band actually delivers cohesive songs that are both technically proficient and enjoyable to listen to. The band’s sound is a mixture of old-school Death/Necrophagist Tech Death Metal with a few modern touches, so you know you are in for a treat.

    The band quickly blasts into the playful craftiness of “On the Brink of the Ravine”, flanked by intricate drumming and engaging riffs, the band sets a very hectic pace. The band’s ability to still sound like a traditional Death Metal band is quite evident as tracks like “Phosphenes” and “Oxygen Catastrophe” have heavy roots and just need some technical sprinkles to come together, and deliver brilliant headbanging passages.

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